Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez announced his resignation to his caucus and other party insiders on Wednesday but didn't announce the decision publicly.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
Quebec Liberal Leader Pablo Rodriguez resigned Wednesday afternoon just months after taking the helm of the party and less than a year ahead of a scheduled provincial election.
The abrupt departure of the former federal Liberal cabinet minister amid a leadership campaign-financing scandal leaves Quebec’s only federalist party in crisis, with the sovereigntist Parti Québécois leading comfortably in the polls and promising a third separation referendum if it wins.
Mr. Rodriguez announced his resignation to the Quebec Liberal caucus and to other party insiders on Wednesday but did not announce the decision publicly. His former leadership rival, businessman Charles Milliard, confirmed in a social-media post that he spoke to Mr. Rodriguez Wednesday afternoon, congratulating him on a “courageous decision in the best interests of the Party.”
Mr. Rodriguez had faced growing pressure to step down since media reports surfaced in November of party members being paid by campaign organizers in exchange for supporting his recent leadership bid. The opening of a criminal investigation by the province’s anti-corruption police task force earlier this month added to the crisis.
Escalating the situation this week, media reports said that as many as 20 donors at a leadership fundraiser for Mr. Rodriguez were reimbursed with $500 in cash by a wealthy businessman. That would be illegal. Mr. Rodriguez has denied knowledge of any wrongdoing related to campaign financing.
A public conflict with prominent Liberal deputy Marwah Rizqy over the firing of her chief of staff, a Rodriguez ally, added to the turbulence around his leadership. Media reports alleged that the firing was connected to the use of legislature funds for partisan purposes, but ended with Mr. Rodriguez expelling the popular Ms. Rizqy from caucus.
By this week, he and the party faced at least three separate investigations into party financing, including an internal Liberal probe and one by the National Assembly’s Ethics Commissioner.
His departure marks a dramatic fall from grace for former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s erstwhile Quebec lieutenant and federal minister of transport and Canadian heritage. Mr. Rodriguez entered the Quebec Liberal leadership contest to significant fanfare in January and won a close-fought race in June.
The party forms the Official Opposition to Premier François Legault’s government, although Mr. Rodriguez does not have a seat in the National Assembly.
Party insiders are already considering possible replacements for Mr. Rodriguez, although how a new leader will be chosen in time to fight a fall 2026 election remains unclear.
André Pratte, until recently the president of the party’s political commission, said that although Mr. Rodriguez was personally well-liked within the party, its sights were already turned to the future.
“Everyone is now thinking what’s next. As sad and cruel as politics is, the show must go on.”
The party’s executive committee is expected to meet Thursday, said Mr. Pratte, to decide how to choose a new leader. Party rules allow the executive to handpick Mr. Rodriguez’s successor, but it is more likely that a short leadership race will pit several candidates against each other.
The party will be hoping for a quick and decisive battle such as the one that elected Mark Carney as federal Liberal Leader in March, leading to his victory in the federal election barely six weeks later, said Mr. Pratte.
The runners-up in the past provincial Liberal leadership race, former National Assembly deputy Karl Blackburn and Mr. Milliard, are widely expected to run again.
Federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who has been seen as a possible successor for Mr. Rodriguez, ruled out a leadership bid on Wednesday.
“My way of serving Quebec and Quebeckers has been to bring my voice to Ottawa and I think as Minister of Finance you would appreciate that I have a lot of things on my plate,” Mr. Champagne said in a news conference from Berlin, where he is on a four-day visit to Europe.
He added that he had no information to suggest other members of the federal caucus might be interested in the job. “We let our colleagues in Quebec do what they have to do,” he said.
Towering challenges face the next Quebec Liberal leader, said Mr. Pratte. Not only will they have to reunite a party torn apart by a contentious recent leadership race and clean up a tarnished political brand, but they will only have about six months to introduce themselves to voters before a crucial fall election.
“The 2026 election is especially important – the stakes are very high. The main issue will be whether voters want to have a third referendum on separation or not. That makes this election special, with particularly high stakes,” said Mr. Pratte.
“If we’re not prepared for this election, that bears some bad news for Quebec, and I think for Canada.”
With reports from Ian Bailey and The Canadian Press